Happy Tuesday! Welcome to another Top up Tuesday.
April Week 1, 2026
British Classic Open qualifying
In case you missed our announcement, we are amending our qualifying process for lifters to be able to compete at the British Classic Open in December of this year.
Online members open forum
This week, I want to focus on our upcoming Members Open Forum. These sessions are so important because they give us a chance to sit down together—as a community—and talk about where the sport is heading. You are the heart of British Powerlifting, and your views are what drive us forward.
When: April 17 at 6pm
How: Zoom online video call. Register here to join us.
Here’s a look at what we’ll be putting on the table for discussion:
The Coaching Licence
We’ve been hearing a lot of feedback regarding the British Powerlifting Coaching Licence. It’s been a part of our structure for a while now (as you’ll see in our historical minutes), but we know there’s always room to refine how it works for you. We want to hear your experiences—what’s working, what’s a bit of a headache, and how we can make it a tool that truly supports our coaches.
Getting AGM-Ready (and Solving Problems Now!)
The AGM is coming up, and we want to go into it feeling prepared. This forum is your chance to bring up the items you think are essential for the AGM agenda.
Even better—if there are things we can discuss and resolve right here in the forum, let’s do it! If we can find a cooperative solution now, it saves time at the AGM for the big-picture stuff.
We also want to talk about our Online Voting System. England Director Kevin Jane (KJ) has put forward a submission suggesting we review how we vote. Currently, voting happens before the meeting, but KJ’s point is that this can sometimes “stifle democratic debate.” The idea is to move toward a system more like the IPF’s—where we can discuss a motion, adapt it if needed, and then vote in real-time. Democracy takes a bit longer, but it’s how we ensure everyone’s voice is truly heard.
Growing Pains: The Move to Paid Roles
As many of you know, the workload for our volunteers has become massive. To keep up with Sport England standards and manage international teams and national events, we need consistency and reliability that we just can’t ask of volunteers forever.
Fraser Montgomery and Josh Bell have put forward a proposal to introduce part time paid positions for the CEO, Performance Director, Competition Director, and an Administrator.
The Goal: To attract and keep the highest caliber of people to run our sport professionally.
The Plan: We aren’t just looking at your membership fees to cover this! The proposal looks at a “mixed bag” of funding, including:
- Using some of our reserves.
- A small membership increase (around £3 a year).
- Aggressively pursuing additional sponsorship (targeting £40k–£60k).
- Streamlining the International process to reduce any wasted costs
A Final Note on How We Talk
When we meet for this forum, I’m asking everyone to come with a spirit of respect and cooperation. We are all here because we love Powerlifting. The sport has grown so much, and while that brings challenges, it’s a brilliant problem to have. Let’s find the best path forward together.
I really want to hear from you—you are the sport, and your perspective is invaluable.
LONG TERM STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT
British Powerlifting is currently developing its long-term strategy, aligned with the requirements of UK Sport Tier 1–3 Code for Sports Governance, which places a strong emphasis on transparency, accountability, and stakeholder engagement.
As part of this process, we are seeking input from members across all areas of the sport. Your feedback will directly inform priorities, investment decisions, and the future direction of British Powerlifting.
The survey is anonymous to encourage open and honest feedback. We do ask that all responses remain constructive and respectful. The survey should take no more than 5 minutes to complete.
What’s coming up
We’ve got some exciting competitions coming up:
- University National Championships 2026 (BUCS), 24th – 26th April, Nottingham Trent University (Clifton Campus), Nottingham
- European Equipped Championships, 1-10 May, Czechia
- British Classic Sub-Junior and Junior Championships, 14-17 May, Surrey Sports Park, Surrey.
Next weeks newsletter
There will be no newsletter next week in lieu of Easter break, the next publication will be April 14.